


I may be an Incomplete Puzzle, but that's why Other People Exist

by YukippeTodo



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Blood, Gen, Harry Potter AU, Implied Character Death, Implied Stalking, Mentioned Character Death, No Beta We Die Like August, Non-Linear Narrative, OOC characters, Stabbing, does it count as torture if someone gets crucio-ed once, just some world-building elements from it, like its a fucking mess, like very, please don't hurt me i wrote this on a whim, will fix tags if needed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29418768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YukippeTodo/pseuds/YukippeTodo
Summary: Takato Tasuku promised himself that he wouldn’t get too close to other people. Not after what happened during his time at Hogwarts. The two people he even had a shred of trust for had either given up too early, or twisted their mind into something worse.Azuma never really told anyone about his family. About how his brother’s body was never found. About the ominous messages he would get every year on his birthday.A single gut feeling brings them into each other's lives.
Relationships: Takatoo Tasuku & Yukishiro Azuma
Kudos: 5





	I may be an Incomplete Puzzle, but that's why Other People Exist

**Author's Note:**

> This sprouted from a conversation I had with Japanesepengi on discord.
> 
> Did I ever intend to write this? Absolutely not. I promise I don't always write this messy, but this is something that I just HAD to get out. I said nonlinear narrative but seriously, chronology died.
> 
> I seriously twisted a3! lore so things are very inaccurate, but that's what an AU is for.
> 
> Heed the warnings in the tags.

Takato Tasuku promised himself that he wouldn’t get too close to other people. Not after what happened during his time at Hogwarts. The two people he even had a shred of trust for had either given up too early, or twisted their mind into something worse.

Takato Tasuku, one of the youngest aurors in the Ministry of Magic, did not have any friends. He did not want any friends, not after Haruto had betrayed him and everyone by letting Death Eaters into the school. Not after Tsumugi was almost killed and gave up becoming an auror with him. His co-workers might call him cold, but it was his way to keep himself strong.

To not let anyone in.

Yet here he was, protecting someone that he had gotten too close to.

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Azuma has been alone for as long as he can remember. His parents and brother were killed before he received the letter to Hogwarts, and he basically lived there with the exception of the summer holidays. Often, he would be hanging around numerous people who got close to him because he was smart. Witty. Pretty. Not because they wanted to be with him, but because being with him had a good effect on people’s reputation, supposedly.

Azuma never really told anyone about his family. About how his brother’s body was never found. About the ominous messages he would get every year on his birthday.

He stopped looking forward to anything. After all, people were going to see the truth some day and end up leaving him. And then he’d be alone, just like he was when the news first came.

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Tasuku was in his seventh year when the dark wizards infiltrated Hogwarts. They had a mere two months left before graduation when suddenly, dark clouds hung over the Great Hall and a tornado of destruction tore through the castle. Tsumugi and Tasuku hadn’t been with each other then - Tasuku was in Herbology and Tsumugi had been in Charms. All of the wizards of age had been released into a battlefield against more than experienced wizards as opponents.

It was a mess. Tasuku still remembers how numerous third and fourth years of his own house were thrown off the Astronomy tower, seconds before he could reach them. How he narrowly escaped death from a collapsing wall. How he had carried an unconscious 6th year away from Haruto who had cackled behind him like a madman.

How Haruto had… what had he done to piss him off even more? Something about Tsumugi… that he couldn’t quite remember.

And how in the aftermath, Tasuku had snapped at Tsumugi after he threw his decent scores away and decided to be a teacher instead of an auror.

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Azuma screams as he wakes up. 

“Hey hey hey, it’s alright!” Azuma feels someone grab his shoulders and he tries to wrestle himself out of the grip but this man is definitely stronger than before what the fu- “Azuma, it’s me. Tasuku.”

Azuma whips his head around, bringing a fist with it, and watches almost in horror as it collides with Tasuku’s nose. “Oh my god I’m sorry!”

“I kind of deserved that,” Tasuku says, rubbing his nose. “Ah crap, one sec.” Tasuku mutters a couple of charms and his nose corrects itself with a sickening crunch. “Ow.”

“This is why you don’t grab people from behind,” a different voice that Azuma isn’t familiar with says. Azuma spins around and sees a pretty much carbon copy of Tasuku sitting on his other side and he’s somehow coherent enough to realize that this is Fuyuki. “Sorry about him.”

“No, it’s quite alright,” Azuma laughs, but he can’t shake that feeling of paranoia that he had picked up from the past… “How long was I out?”

“Two days,” Tasuku tells him. “Don’t worry, I haven’t had any new jobs to attend to.”

So the past five days almost. Boy did those five days go by fast. “That’s so sweet of you, Tasuku.”

“I did it because I wasn’t gonna let someone innocent die, not because I like you,” Tasuku mutters, looking away. 

Fuyuki laughs. “That’s a lie and we all know it, Tasuku.” He reaches across the bed and grabs Tasuku’s arm. “Will you be honest if I tell him how you were pacing next to his bed all of yesterday?”

“There’s no reason for me to be honest if you’re telling him!”

This is how brothers were supposed to interact. That’s no secret, really, and Azuma can’t help but be jealous of their relationship. At least Fuyuki wasn’t going to stab Tasuku anytime soon, and Tasuku wasn’t going to have more trust issues than he already has…

“Azuma, are you crying?” Tasuku looks at him in surprise. “Did we say something?”

Azuma shakes his head. “I was just… reminiscing.” Tasuku nods in understanding. “But really, thank you Tasuku.”

“For what? All I did was-”

“Made sure I didn’t die.”

“That’s my job.”

“I don’t care if that’s your job,” Azuma smiles. “I’m just really glad that I found someone who wants to shelter me.”

Tasuku sighs. “Like I said-”

“It was your decision to let me into your apartment,” Azuma points out, and Tasuku sighs defeatedly. “You could probably have just locked me in the Ministry of Magic or something.”

“Alright, you win.” Tasuku rubs his face. “But I swear I had no intention of getting close to you.”

“Even if it wasn’t your intention, we did find out a few things about each other, didn’t we,” Azuma says. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.”

Tasuku rolls his eyes but there is a hint of a smile on his face. “Then don’t tell anyone.”

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Tasuku steps back, gasping. The other man falls in front of him.

A simple hex, that was all it really took to take him off guard. Of course.

Azuma coughs, an ungodly sound, but Tasuku doesn’t care as long as he’s alive and somewhat breathing at least. Tasuku really wants to go back and check on him but he has priorities.

“Expelliarmus!” Well shit, apparently he regained his bearings in the two seconds it took him to know that Azuma was okay. Wandless, Tasuku opts to grabbing some random knife and a couple of forks before blindly throwing them at the man. 

What he definitely doesn’t expect is for the knife to go straight through the guy’s neck.

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Ten maybe even twenty years ago, Azuma wouldn’t even dare to call himself paranoid. Yet now, as he reads the letter on the table, he feels a chill go down his spine. 

**_To my dear Azuma,  
I’m regretful to say that this will be the last letter you will receive from me. I hope you’ve had a wonderful life. _ **

**_I have been watching you very closely. You can run and hide all you want, but you won’t be able to escape. Not anymore. I’ll make sure it’ll be slow so we can savor every moment._ **

**_I love you._ **

The person behind the letters… could be watching him now. Must be watching him now. He comes to a number of conclusions but one stands out the most to him.

He’s going to get killed. 

Azuma crams the letter into his bag and rushes out of his house. Anywhere with people. Where people can watch so they won’t come and kill him.

Azuma takes the first train into London.

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Tsumugi was shy. It was the first thing Tasuku noticed about him. Tsumugi never seemed to initiate much of anything until they really bonded over the idea of being aurors together. 

Tasuku was the reckless one, and Tsumugi was the smart one. They both knew that, especially when Tsumugi ended up in Ravenclaw and himself in Slytherin. Of course, they didn’t care about house rivalries and talked to each other as much as they possibly could.

They were in their fifth year when Haruto first approached Tasuku. Haruto had always been bold, striking up deals with a number of prefects to get away with things people shouldn’t normally be able to get away with. 

“I want to be the captain of the quidditch team.”

“What?” Tasuku was taken aback. At that time, Tsumugi had been with him too, just coming back from joint Transfiguration.

“Asuka, I don’t think that’s how it works,” Tsumugi had said. “Quidditch tryouts for Slytherin should be soon though, so you could-”

“But that’s in two weeks! I want to prove to Tasuku that I can lead now!”

Tasuku wanted to sock Haruto in the face right then and there. He would have, had he not been a prefect. “It’s just like Tsumugi said, you’re going to have to wait.”

Haruto glared at Tsumugi. “So if I get rid of Tsumugi, will you listen to what I say?”

“No.”

“Bummer.” Haruto shrugged before walking away. Tasuku and Tsumugi glanced at each other and shared a thought, though they did not dare to say it.

Something is up with him.

Despite that, Haruto came up to Tasuku more and more and they actually got friendly with each other. Whenever Tasuku was in the common room, he would be doing something with Haruto whether it be wizard’s chess or tutoring. 

So when Haruto disappeared for a week and a half, Tasuku was genuinely worried. Everyone else just said he had gone home for a family emergency, but something about that excuse just didn’t fit right.

When he did come back, just two days before the fated day, he had snapped at Tasuku for hanging out with Tsumugi.

“You mean you’re still friends with that filthy mudblood?” Haruto growled. “What is it with you and your BS, you say you want to be an auror but you’re friends with a disgusting PIG!”

It was a good thing Tsumugi wasn’t around to hear this particular conversation. “Yeah, so what? I like being friends with him, even if he’s mudblood. I bet you aren’t a pureblood either, so shut the hell up and leave him alone.”

“You’re going to regret this, you know,” Haruto said angrily before stomping away.

“We’ll see about that, Asuka!” 

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Azuma isn’t really expecting anyone to notice him. He hasn’t been in London since the last time he got off the Hogwarts Express and so while he feels out of place, apparently he doesn’t look too out of place. He wandered around aimlessly for about an hour and a half, maybe even two hours before a tall man with dark green hair approached him.

“Are you lost or something?” he asks. He sounded almost annoyed. 

Azuma shakes his head. “I’m quite familiar with this area.”

“Then why have I seen you walk past this spot ten times within the past hour?”

“I’m waiting on someone,” Azuma answers. “They’re taking their time, it seems.”

“Bullshit.”

“What?”

Suddenly, Azuma feels the air get at least 5 degrees colder and he shivers. The man seems to notice too, because he grabs his hand. “Hey-” and the man starts running, pulling him along the sidewalk. “Wha-” The man doesn’t stop until they get to a white car. The man shoves him into the back before getting into the driver’s seat. “What was that for? Do you plan to kidnap me?”

“Shut up,” he says. “You felt that too, didn’t you.”

Azuma considers playing it dumb, he notices a couple of quidditch charms in the car and nods. “Yeah. I felt it.”

“Do you have anywhere you need to be?” he asks.

“Not currently, no, but I- I can’t be here, not when I have someone looking for me,” Azuma tells him. “You won’t be safe.”

“I can protect myself if need be,” The man replies. “Takato Tasuku. I’m an auror.”

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“Shut up!” Tasuku shouted. “You can’t just be so selfish! What about our promise?”

Tsumugi shook his head. “I can’t. I- I don’t want to go through that again. Besides,” Tsumugi smiles sadly. “What use am I if I can’t even protect myself?”

“Fine,” Tasuku stood up. “Have it your way. Don’t expect to hear from me after today though.”

“I’m fine with that,” Tsumugi replied nonchalantly. “If you’re going to be happier without me, I’ll stay out of your business.”

Tasuku almost expected Tsumugi to put up more of a fight. He expected it to be much harder telling him. “Then fuck off,” Tasuku told him before walking out of the compartment. Little did he know, Tsumugi was already crying as he closed the door behind him.

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Azuma wasn’t really sure why this complete stranger suddenly decided to take him to his apartment, but after he explained the predicament the auror didn’t seem to really mind. He told him about the most recent letter and just to make it seem more of a problem, added that he was probably going to come kill him sooner than later.

Takato Tasuku, huh. Azuma definitely remembers there being a Takato during his time at Hogwarts, just not this Takato. Maybe an older brother or god forbid, his father. Azuma shakes his head. Now isn’t the time to be thinking about that.

“Do you have an idea of who it might be?” he asks as he sits down in front of him. Azuma shakes his head, because he really doesn’t know. Takato doesn’t ask anymore, as if he’s scared of pushing more than he has to.

“Why did you decide to be an auror?” Azuma asks. If he’s going to be with this man until he probably dies, it’s worth it to get to know him a bit, isn’t it?

“Was a promise,” Takato replies. “With…” he hesitates. “I guess you could say someone I used to be friends with.”

“Interesting,” Azuma says. “Alright then, do you have... say… an older brother?”

“Why do you want to know?” Takato asks.

“Why not? I’m supposed to die soon according to whoever keeps sending me letters, so I won’t be able to tell anyone anyways.”

“Yeah I have a brother,” Takato says. “Why? You know him or something?”

“I have a feeling we were at Hogwarts at around the same time,” Azuma replies. “Maybe just for a year or two.”

“I’ll ask about it when I’m not guarding a potential target of a stalker/serial killer.”

“Did you seriously say “slash” out loud?”

“Shut up old man!”

“Oh, so I’m an old man now?”

“You’re old enough to be older than my brother!”

“I might be a genius wizard who’s actually younger than you.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“I know.”

Takato gets up. “You can take the guest room, I guess, or sleep on the couch if that makes you feel safer. I’ll be up all night anyways, so take your pick.”

“I’ll be fine here then,” Azuma tells him. “Besides, I want to get to know you a bit more.”

“I don’t do that.”

“You did.”

“No I didn’t.”

“You told me about your brother. Tell me about that friend or something. Or why you always sound like someone robbed a bank in front of you and you didn’t stop them.” Azuma smiles. “I’ll tell you a bit about myself while we’re at it.”

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Takato Tasuku swore to himself as he left Hogwarts that he would make no friends.

That was the plan. The goddamn plan. But sometimes, you can’t follow your plans. 

Actually, in a way, Azuma saved him from the spiral into near insanity. Had he not grabbed him off the streets that day, both of them would probably be dead, one way or another.

The next task, as per Azuma’s request, was to contact Tsumugi and make up with him. After getting in touch with Fuyuki for the first time in three months, he found himself back at Hogwarts.

“If Tsumugi decides to retaliate, I’ll explain everything,” Azuma tells him, almost reassuringly. “After all, it’s better if there are no misunderstandings.”

“Right.”

The pair make their way up to the Muggle Studies classroom and knock.

“Come in.” Damn it, why does Tsumugi still sound like he did during that day-

Azuma nudges the door open and gives Tasuku a gentle push. “Go on.”

Tasuku hasn’t even made it through the door when Tsumugi drops whatever it is he’s holding, a pen probably. “Taacha- Takato. What are you doing here?”

Tasuku pretends that his heart didn’t just get stabbed when Tsumugi corrected himself. “I came to say sorry.”

“Why would you do that now?” Tsumugi asks, sounding incredulous.

“Because you were my friend and I was an asshole to you.”

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Takato agrees to let Azuma stay at his place for a while, at least until he feels safe. Azuma still goes out in the day, but always returns by nightfall. Takato is… a different story and returns at a different time every day.

Azuma stays at his house for three days before anything happens. 

He’s coming home from going to the grocery store to restock the fridge when he sees a letter sitting on the table. He frowns but pays it no mind as he puts things away. Once the bag is empty, he takes a look at the envelope. 

**_To my beloved Yukishiro Azuma_ **

Azuma drops the letter and all but dashes to the bathroom and locks himself in. Of course they would know that he wasn’t at his house anymore. They said they were watching him. They would know if he started going to someone else’s house. 

He might have sat in the bathroom for two minutes or two hours.

And then someone knocks. Azuma holds his breath, his hands shaking as he grips his wand in his pocket.

“Yukishiro, it’s me.”

Azuma sighs in relief, shakily gets to his feet, and opens the door.

The man standing in front of him is not in fact, Takato Tasuku.

And Azuma screams.

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Tasuku opens his front door and is immediately met with someone yelling the killing curse. Tasuku manages to deflect it, though it destroys his door in the process. 

The floor is covered in blood, a trail of blood going from one side of the apartment to another. The couch is utterly destroyed, as is the table, and half the bathroom door is on the ground next to a man that he has never seen before. 

“The hell do you want?” Tasuku growls, his wand in front of him. “Why are you in my house?”

“You’ve been watching over my dear Azuma for me, haven’t you?” the man asks in an airy tone.

“Takato, leave,” Azuma breathes out from somewhere in the kitchen. “This is my own problem.”

“Yukishiro, who the hell is this?” Tasuku asks, sliding the remains of the couch in front of the doorway. 

“Oh, I’m afraid I haven’t… properly introduced myself to either of you,” the man smiles.

It clicks for Tasuku a split second before he says it.

“My name is Yukishiro Hajime. My beloved Azuma’s older brother.”

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Azuma was ten when his parents and brother were killed. As a pureblood family, that was the only explanation. There was no “they got hit by a car” or “they fell off a cliff.” 

Losing your family at any age is traumatic. Azuma knows so. His so-called friends have described how it feels to lose their grandparents and sometimes, parents or siblings. Not one was happy. Especially losing multiple members in one go, that really messes with people.

But no one can really feel the pain that he felt in the moment he saw the golden orbs, the same ones that were in his own head.

Azuma screams his throat raw, backing into the sink. He holds his wand out in front of him with shaky hands, but a simple disarming charm sends it into the shower. Every living creature is equipped with fight or flight instincts, and apparently Azuma has no instincts to fight back because he pushes past the man in front of him and runs.

He makes it a total of five steps down the hall before he feels hands on his shoulders and a blossoming pain in his gut. Azuma doesn’t register that he’s been stabbed by a knife until he sees a metallic tip sticking out of his abdomen and his mind completely blanks.

How do you deal with getting stabbed? This was not something he learned at Hogwarts for sure.

The man puts his chin on his shoulder and whispers softly, “Is that how you greet your older brother?”

Azuma turns his head to look at his brother’s face. “H-Hajime…”

“It’s been a while, Azuma.”

“B-but…” You’re supposed to be dead. You were blown apart by a dark wizard. Your body couldn’t be recovered beca-

His body was never recovered.

Azuma feels the blood drain out of his face. “You died with our parents. T-that’s what they told me-”

“Did you really think that was the case?” Hajime laughs. “Naive as ever, Azuma.”

“I’m the one who killed them.”

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 _Crucio. Imperio. Avada Kedavra._ The three unforgivable curses, which will land you in Azkaban no matter what the reason you use them for.

Tasuku had seen all three of them used many times. His job field definitely required him to deal with stuff like that.

That was part of the 6th year curriculum. One must never, ever use them.

He feels like his gut’s been punched when the man - Hajime - casually casts the cruciatus curse on Azuma with the tone of voice that one would use in normal conversation. It bothers him though, how he doesn’t react to Azuma’s pained scream.

“ _Levicorpus_ ,” Tasuku mutters, and Hajime fucking deflects it. Tasuku decides that he hates this man very much. “ _Stupefy_ , _Expelliarmus_ , fuck you CAN YOU STOP FOR TWO SECONDS?!”

The man turns to him instead. “Alright then, _Crucio_.”

Tasuku ducks and hears the window behind him shatter. “By all means, I think you’ve forgotten that some people aren’t as slow as you think.”

Hajime chuckles. “An Auror, perhaps?”

“Yes.”

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Tsumugi never really expected anything after the last time he spoke to Tasuku. They would just stay out of each other’s lives for the rest of time and everyone would be happy. 

And then, one Yukishiro Azuma happened to Tasuku. He doesn’t really know what, because neither man will say anything about it, but one thing is clear.

He’s glad to have the old Tasuku back.


End file.
